Media conservatives cited faulty poll to claim popular support for domestic spying program

    Summary: Conservative media figures have defended the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program by citing a Rasmussen poll saying 64 percent of Americans believe "the National Security Agency [should] be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States." But the key issue, which the poll misrepresents, is not whether surveillance of terrorism suspects should take place at all -- something about which there is little controversy -- but whether President Bush violated the law by approving warrantless searches of domestic phone and email communications.

The survey question is flawed in other respects, as well. It does not mention that Bush apparently authorized this surveillance without the meaningful oversight of any court or Congress. Moreover, while the question suggests that Bush has authorized surveillance only between "terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States," in fact, the program has reportedly captured conversations in which all parties were located in the United States.

MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, CNBC host Lawrence Kudlow, and conservative radio host Michael Reagan referenced the Rasmussen poll in defending Bush's authorization of the NSA eavesdropping program. The poll, conducted December 26-27, asked respondents: "Should the National Security Agency be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States?" Sixty-four percent of respondents answered "Yes." But the poll omitted a key fact in the debate that has erupted following The New York Times' disclosure of the domestic surveillance program.

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Zogby sometimes gets it wrong Rasmussen makes it wrong.. Thats why you refer to it.

any implication that Democrats are weak and would give in to the terrorists polite? Why are they allowed to be complete and utter assholes, but we're not allowed to call them out on it? Cenk

Maybe you could enlighten us as to where you came up with this information other than regurgitating Rush Limbaugh? Prove your lies.

• Dems think our troops are "Nazis" http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/10/25/21313 4/43/102#102

• Dems are starting their vicious attack on American identity, national religion, taxpayers etc, http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/10/22/11525 /191/10#10

• Voting for Democrats are at best like voting for street bums and at worst a lot like voting for terrorists.http://www.theyo ungturks.com/comments/2007/ 10/14/155517/23/33#33

• Dems do want to take away our guns and they do want to limit our freedom of speech http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/6/20/13312/ 0705/3#3

• La Raza is running and directing what the dems do http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/6/14/16394/ 1135/15#15

• The dems desire to defeat the troops in Iraq and Afganistan. They want to impeach Bush because that is another way to victory in the war against the war (or another way to defeat the U.S., whichever way you look at it.) http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/4/11/112312 /588/9#9

• Pelosi has set a date for surrender to the terrorists in Iraq, Pelosi has set a date for surrender to the terrorists in Iraq, http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/4/11/112312 /588/2#2

• the Terrorists and the Democrats have had a lot of success in their attempts to break the will to fight of the American people. http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/4/9/131553/ 4837/1#1

• Many Americans have lsot the will to fight the terrorists after the non-stop rhetoric coming from the left and the L&S divisions of our campuses http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/4/9/131553/ 4837/1#1

• The Dems mato is defeat. Common sense tells us they were going to surrender to the terrorists if they took power incongress.This defeatism means implementing dates for withdrawal and defunding the our troops. http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/3/28/102731 /281/11#11

• Nancy hangs the troops out to dry to let the Americans know who the dems really are and to lets the Islamos know that your party supports them http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/3/23/14658/ 5848/1#1

• Go complain to Harry Reid who is heading up the defeat our troopsbillhttp://www.theyou ngturks.com/comments/2007/3 /2/941/60818/2#2

• the Dems support the troops by supporting their defeat. The dems can't be trusted on any matters of national security.http://www.theyoun gturks.com/comments/2007/2/ 25/61739/1922/63#63

• I posted his closing speech in the effort to stop the Dems pro-Al Qaeda resolution.http://www.theyo ungturks.com/comments/2007/ 2/25/61739/1922/54#54

• Dems ARE unpatriotic bafoons, and the republicans aren't. http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/2/16/13593/ 4879/2#2

• Well if there is one thing the Dems don't do is " Caring about our country." They've been working on tearing apart the ideaof what it means to be American since way before the farewell speech of Reagan where he talked about the elimination of nationalpride and collective memory.http://www.theyoungt urks.com/comments/2007/2/17 /22318/8973/22#22

• the Dem supported the troops by supporting their defeat in the 60s. Now they "support" the troops by supporting their defeatin the war on terror. It comes to reason that the Democrats DO NOT SUPPORT THE TROOPS.http://www.theyoungt urks.com/comments/2007/2/15 /175041/565/41#41

• How did they manage to trick the voters into this new hope ( Obama ed.) filled bipartisan agenda when the cooks are running their party?http://www.theyoungtu rks.com/comments/2007/2/6/1 1367/49130/2#2

• Like I said, if it wasn't for the Democrats hindering the war effort, funding, and the troops we'd have won these years ago. What we need is a much larger standing army, more media control, and fewer rules. Unfortunately Al Qaeda has learned to game our media in order to dispirit the American people and the dems just act an amplifier for their message. http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/2/2/18320/2 3155/9#9

• CNN can play the terrorists propaganda vids along side of the dem resolution supporting the terrorists.

• Well I do know why the dems voted for General Patraeus and his plan for a surge along with giving funding to president Bush for the troops surge yet pass resolutions opposing what they just did\approved. It's all politics. Their rabid anti-American base demands that the dems politicize the war and pretend to not support the troop http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2006/5/3/12955/5 1892/8#8

• the CNN sniper video of troops getting shot that was filmed by the terrorists in Iraq for propaganda. They want to break the American will so they give the tapes to the libs in our lib media who have like minded goals.  http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2007/1/5/19828/5 3784/2#2

• The dems are invested in defeat, and cheer it on http://www.theyoungturks.co m/comments/2006/12/3/151518 /361/4#4